Breast Cancer Clinical Outcome Measures Project: national results from year 1

The Breast Cancer Clinical Outcome Measures (BCCOM) Project aims to audit the clinical management of symptomatic breast cancers in the United Kingdom. The information needed for the audit is obtained by tapping into existing sources such as the data currently collected by cancer registries and individual clinicians.

In collaboration with the UK cancer registries and 191 breast surgeons registered with the UK Association of Breast Surgery at BASO, data for a total of 16,407 breast cancers diagnosed in 2002 were collected. In the data for year 1 of the BCCOM Project, the proportion of patients not receiving surgery increased from 6% in those aged 50–64 to 41% in those aged 80 and above. Overall, 48% of the surgically treated cases received a mastectomy, but mastectomy rates varied between surgeons from 19% to 92%. The proportion of patients treated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy fell sharply with age, while the proportion treated with hormone therapy increased with age. The proportion of cancers with known nodal status decreased from 68% in patients aged 50–64 to 30% in those aged 80 and above. Nodal positivity varied between 12% for small cancers (diameter <10 mm) to 81% for large cancers (diameter >50 mm).

Year 2 of the BCCOM Project, which will examine clinical outcomes for symptomatic breast cancers diagnosed in 2003, was launched in January 2006.